The ad explains Senator Lincoln Chafee's support for
high taxes, his sponsorship of $48 billion more in government spending, and his
votes for wasteful spending, including the "Bridge to Nowhere" boondoggle in
Alaska. It calls on Rhode Islanders to tell Chafee that he's just too liberal
with their taxes.

Mr. Chafee is trying to encourage Democrats to reregister as independents,
which would allow them to vote in the party primary of their choosing. "It
doesn't take very many independents, maybe 10,000 to 15,000, to really make a
difference," Darrell West, a Brown University pollster told the Providence
Journal.

Indeed, Stephanie Chafee, the senator's wife, went so far as to send out an
e-mail this week in which she tells registered Democrats: "I am strongly
encouraging you to disaffiliate and to become an unaffiliated voter." Her pitch
isn't exactly designed to comfort most Republican hearts: "Linc's centrist views
are good for Rhode Island. They allow him to work with colleagues in a
bipartisan manner to ensure that our state receives its fair share of federal
funding, to expand access to health care and education, and to safeguard our
beautiful forests and coastlines."

While Mr. Chafee's ploy is certainly within the boundaries of a tough
political contest, Republicans should ask themselves if they really want a U.S.
Senator who thinks he can only remain in office by inviting Democrats to crash a
Republican primary.

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The ad explains Senator Lincoln Chafee's support for
high taxes, his sponsorship of $48 billion more in government spending, and his
votes for wasteful spending, including the "Bridge to Nowhere" boondoggle in
Alaska. It calls on Rhode Islanders to tell Chafee that he's just too liberal
with their taxes.

Mr. Chafee is trying to encourage Democrats to reregister as independents,
which would allow them to vote in the party primary of their choosing. "It
doesn't take very many independents, maybe 10,000 to 15,000, to really make a
difference," Darrell West, a Brown University pollster told the Providence
Journal.

Indeed, Stephanie Chafee, the senator's wife, went so far as to send out an
e-mail this week in which she tells registered Democrats: "I am strongly
encouraging you to disaffiliate and to become an unaffiliated voter." Her pitch
isn't exactly designed to comfort most Republican hearts: "Linc's centrist views
are good for Rhode Island. They allow him to work with colleagues in a
bipartisan manner to ensure that our state receives its fair share of federal
funding, to expand access to health care and education, and to safeguard our
beautiful forests and coastlines."

While Mr. Chafee's ploy is certainly within the boundaries of a tough
political contest, Republicans should ask themselves if they really want a U.S.
Senator who thinks he can only remain in office by inviting Democrats to crash a
Republican primary.